


18 Again

by bellamysprincess99



Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, M/M, Minor Finn Collins/Clarke Griffin, Modern Setting Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Photography, Soulmates, model!bellamy, photographer!clarke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 15:31:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18501835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellamysprincess99/pseuds/bellamysprincess99
Summary: Clarke's life turned out pretty great. She has a great fiancé, recently moved into a great new town, in a great apartment, and got a great new job.Or she thought.Clarke Griffin's life gets turned on its head when she gets hired to photograph for one of the biggest magazine companies in Arkadia, and when one of the models happens to be the love of her teenage life.What if what they say is true? What if the one true love is the only one you get?--“Hey Griffin, long time no see.” Came the deep voice that she could not forget in a million years, not even if she tried.She stared at him for a second, taking in just how much he has changed since she last saw him when they were eighteen years old.When she finally answered him, her voice came out much quieter than she anticipated, whispering a small “Hi Bell.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first story that I've written on here and I really hope (if anyone actually reads this) that you'll enjoy it!
> 
> Also, this chapter is super super short but I thought it was a good place to cut it off, but future chapters will be much longer :)

The excruciating sound of her alarm clock is the first thing that wakes Clarke in the morning. The second, is the familiar scent of coffee drifting into her bedroom, indicating that her fiance, Finn, is already awake.

Clarke groans as she lifts herself out of bed and carries on with her usual morning routine before throwing on a work-appropriate outfit and heading downstairs.

“Hey babe. Ready for the big day today?” Finn asks as he hands her a mug of black coffee, just the way she likes it.

Clarke sighs into the mug, taking a much need sip before answering him with a simple nod.

Today was Clarke’s first day working with the biggest magazine in all of Arkadia - Mount Weather - owned by Cage Wallace, one of the wealthiest men in the country. She was photographing for the upcoming edition of the magazine, showcasing some of the up and coming summer designs by Lexa Woods, who is currently one of the biggest names in fashion. To say this job was a big deal to Clarke would be an understatement.

After declining Finn’s offer to drive her, Clarke gives him a quick kiss goodbye and makes her way to the ground floor of their apartment complex. The drive to the Mount Weather building shouldn’t have taken her long, however the traffic in Arkadia was especially busy today.

Once she finally arrives, she walks into the building to be greeted by an employee, who introduces herself as Maya Vie. “Hi there! Welcome to Mount Weather Industries, if I were to guess based on all of that equipment you’re carrying, I would guess you are Miss Griffin, yes?”

“Clarke is fine,” Clarke begins, however before she can add anymore, Maya has flagged down a couple other employees, who promptly take all of the camera equipment from Clarke and she watches as they carefully load them up on a trolly and roll it down the hall.

With that, Maya gestures for Clarke to follow her, as she leads her to a elevator. “So the shoot today will be taking place in our studio on the 7th floor, which is where Monty and Jasper took your equipment. According to my notes here, you’ll be photographing the swimsuit portion of next month’s magazine.” Maya continued to talk to Clarke about the models involved in the shoot, but she stopped paying attention, as her nerves began to take over.

Once they arrived to the studio, Maya gave Clarke a proper introduction to Monty Green and Jasper Jordan, who would be helping her out behind the camera. Maya slipped away to go talk to, who Clarke presumed were some of the models for the day, as the three of them began setting up the lighting and cameras that would be used.

Clarke was already looking through the lense of her camera when the first model came out, wearing a beautiful red bikini that complimented her skin tone perfectly. From some of the research she had done before arriving today, Clarke recognized the girl as Raven Reyes, who seems to be featured in many magazines. Raven was soon joined by another model, who Monty proudly informed Clarke was his girlfriend, Harper McIntyre.

The two girls were beyond easy for Clarke to photograph, taking every piece of direction that she gave them and making it look even better than she pictured in her head.

Before long, they were replaced by another female model, who was dressed in a low-cut black full piece. She proved to be much worse at taking direction from Clarke, as everything Clarke suggested, she would glare at Clarke, as if she thought that she was too good at her job to need direction.

“C’mon Echo, can you just cooperate? We can’t get the lighting placed right with you standing in that position.” Monty finally piped up, causing the model - Echo - to huff and slowly move her body to the position Clarke had been asking her to.

Once she was content with Echo’s solo shots, Maya called for another model to join her, and as soon as she said his name, Clarke felt her breath hitch in her throat - it had to be someone else, _right?_

Wrong.

He walked out from where the dressing rooms were located, and Clarke continued looking straight ahead through her camera lense, praying that he wouldn’t notice her. He was wearing a pair of patterned white bathing suit bottoms, which not only made a good contrast against Echo’s black attire, but it also made his skin look even more tanned than it naturally was.

His unruly hair was cut shorter than the last time she saw him, but it looked good. It took everything she had to focus on photographing him and Echo, instead of focusing on him, but she managed to get through their set fairly quickly, and with giving them as little direction as possible, hoping that this would help in having him not recognize her.

After getting through a few more models and group shots, Maya called for a lunch break as soon as she decided that she was content with the photos so far. Clarke sat down and flipped through some of the photos on her camera as the models filtered out of the dressing rooms. Most of them walked over to the small table of snacks that was set up on the far side of the room, but there were others who just stood and began talking amongst themselves.

Clarke sensed someone standing beside her, and as she slowly looked up, she quickly realized that her plan of going unrecognized failed miserably.

“Hey Griffin, long time no see.” Came the deep voice that she could not forget in a million years, not even if she tried.

She stared at him for a second, taking in just how much he has changed since she last saw him when they were eighteen years old.

When she finally answered him, her voice came out much quieter than she anticipated, whispering a small “Hi Bell.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kudos left on the first chapter of this story! 
> 
> Here is the second chapter, a little longer - as promised. This one has a couple flashbacks so just in case you're confused, the chunks that are in italics are the flashbacks
> 
> Enjoy!

Bellamy Blake. 

 

Bellamy Blake was standing right in front of Clarke, staring at her with an expression that she couldn’t read. That thought alone send a wave of sadness through her - she used to be able to tell anything and everything that he was thinking, but she supposed that is what happens when you haven’t seen, spoken to or heard from someone in 6 years. 

 

Looking into his eyes made Clarke feel as if she’d travelled back in time, and she remembered the last day he had seen Bellamy’s name pop up on her phone.

 

_ 3 Missed Call from Bell _

_ 9 iMessages from Bell _

 

_ Clarke sighed as she shoved her phone back into her pocket and she continued to drag her suitcase through the airport.  _

 

_ She never wanted to leave without saying a proper goodbye, but she knew that one word from Bellamy would be all it took for her to be convinced to stay. Or worse - for her to be convinced to let him go with her. _

 

_ Sitting on the airplane, Clarke finally allowed herself to unlock her phone, as she knew that no matter what his messages said, there would be no way for her to reply once she was in the air. _

 

_ Bell (7:00pm): Hey babe, I’m going to head over to your place in 15 minutes. See you soon _

 

_ Bell (7:20): I’m here _

 

_ Bell (7:30): Clarke? Everything okay? _

 

_ Bell (8:00): Okay I am coming inside _

 

_ Bell (8:03): Clarke where are you? _

 

_ Bell (8:10): Did I do something wrong? _

 

_ Bell (8:30): Please just answer your phone or let someone know you’re okay… _

 

_ Bell (9:00): Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke…  _

 

_ Bell (10:00): I’m sorry that you couldn’t get what you’re looking for here, I truly hope you find it wherever you go. I love you _

 

_ Clarke sobbed into her hands, as she scrolled through the messages, knowing full and well that finding her goodbye letter to him would've broke his heart. She never wanted to hurt him, she just couldn’t stay there anymore. _

 

Clarke shook herself out of the memory and forced herself to look back up at him, where she found his gaze still trained on her. 

 

“You cut your hair.” The words come falling out of her mouth before her brain gives them permission and she internally smacks herself, but Bellamy just gives her a small laugh.

 

“How have you been?” He asks her in such a gentle tone that it makes her want to burst into tears right there. She broke his heart without even giving him a valid reason why, and here he is, 6 years later, acting as if they are simply old friends catching up.

 

But there is nothing simple about their situation.

 

Before Clarke has the chance to collect her thoughts and give him an intelligible answer this time, Maya has called for everyone to get back to work. Bellamy gives Clarke a small nod and turns and walks away from her. It shouldn’t, but it stings - reminding her of when it was her walking away from him, however under much different circumstances.

 

Clarke tries to keep herself focused as model after model pose for her, but she can’t shake away the memories that keep assaulting her mind.

 

_ Bellamy, _

_ I am so sorry. _

_ I’m so sorry for everything and I wish it didn’t have to be like this but you were right - I can’t be around her right now, not after everything. _

_ I know you said if I ever needed to run away that you would gladly come with me, but I couldn’t possibly let you do that. Not with everything that you are able to have here. _

_ We both know that it would be so easy for you to convince me to stay, or that you could come with me, but neither of those things can happen. _

_ We need different things, you and I. _

_ I need to get away from TonDC and my mother and everything that happened. _

_ But you… You need to stay. For Octavia. You need to take advantage of the scholarship that I know you got, despite trying to hide it from me. _

_ And no, I’m not mad at you for keeping it a secret, I know you just wanted to figure out what was best for the two of us, but I’m starting to understand that what’s best for  _ **_you_ ** _ is to be without me. And I’m sorry that I made that decision on my own, but we both know that it is one that you would never, ever be able to make. _

_ No matter what, you’ve always been on my side, had my back, and wanted to protect me. But this time it is my turn to look out for you.  _

_ I’m sorry if my way of doing so changes your opinion of me, but I already decided that is an acceptable loss. Because you’ll be able to prosper in university, and I know you won’t be alone. You will achieve everything you always dreamt of, I know that.  _

_ I love you Bellamy, please don’t ever doubt or forget that.  _

_ And again, I am so sorry. _

_ -Princess _

 

Clarke didn’t even realize that she was thinking about the letter she wrote to him all those years ago until a single tear slipped from her eye. She quickly pushed all her thoughts away and managed to focus on finishing the day’s work. 

 

Once Maya informed everyone that they were finished for the day, and that she would see everyone here tomorrow, Clarke hurried to put her equipment away so she could get out of there without running into Bellamy again.

 

But of course, with her luck, he was the first one out of the dressing room and he marched straight to her. 

 

“So, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go grab some food with me. Or coffee. Or something. To y’know… catch up.”

 

Clarke stared at him for a moment, wondering why the hell he would want to be anywhere near her when it wasn’t necessary but for some reason, she found herself nodding.

 

She followed Bellamy’s instructions to the café around the block from Mount Weather Industries, and parked her car in an empty spot on the side of the street. She took a quick look in her mirror, wondering why the hell she agreed to come here with him. But as she saw him approaching the front entrance, looking around for her, she pulled herself together and got out of her car to meet him.

 

Once inside, Bellamy turned to her, “You still drink your coffee black?” She tried not to smile, and simply nodded her head at him. With that, he wondered up to the counter and placed their order while she found them a table in the corner of the café. 

 

As she sat there, watching Bellamy as he waited for their drinks, she briefly contemplated getting up and bolting out of there but quickly shook the thought away. Not only did she have to see him at work the next day, but she couldn’t stomach the idea of running away from him.

 

Not again.

 

So instead she pulled out her phone while she waited for him to return, choosing to take a look at some of the Instagram follow requests she had. 

 

ravenreyes has requested to follow you. 

greenisgood has requested to follow you.

itsjasperjordannnn has requested to follow you.

officialharpermcintyre has requested to follow you.

maya.mwindustries has requested to follow you.

itsbellamyblake has requested to follow you.

 

Clarke stared at the last user in the list for a second too long - she never thought she would see his name pop up on her phone ever again. She hit accept to all of them, following each of them back and before she even had the chance to debate looking through Bellamy’s profile, he walked over to the table and set their drinks down, taking the seat across from her.

 

“So, let me ask again, how have you been?” He asks her for the second time that day, this time without the chance of being interrupted before he gets an answer.

 

Instead, she smiles lightly at him, “I’ve been pretty good, actually… How have you been?” She doesn’t know why she’s so scared to ask, afterall, he couldn’t possibly still be heartbroken from 6 years ago…

 

Bellamy takes a sip of his drink before nodding at her, “I’ve been alright. First couple years of university were tough but other than that, I’ve been alright.”

 

Clarke chews at her bottom lip as she debates pushing him further about the subject, but as usual, her mouth acts before her brain gives her permission, “Tough as in the workload?”

 

Bellamy stares at his cup, as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world before he quietly answers her question, “Not really. I mean I was super interested in it, obviously… but it just was hard to focus on anything really, not after…” 

 

He trailed off, and knowing Bellamy it was to avoid possibly upsetting her, which only upset her more. She didn’t deserve his kindness, she didn’t deserve anything from him. 

 

She was about to apologize to him, but he quickly cut her off before she even got the chance, “Look, I didn’t ask you to come here with me to hash out the past. I really just wanted to catch up with you. We don’t have to talk about it… What’s new in the life of Clarke Griffin?”

 

As much as Clarke appreciated his change of subject, the guilt did not receed from her gut, making it difficult for her to even swallow the bitter coffee. 

 

“Not a lot, really. I mean, I kind of travelled all over the place for a year or so until I settled in Europe. I met this guy named Finn, who was visiting family there, and when it was time for him to come back to Arkadia, he asked me to come with him. He had sent my portfolio over to Cage Wallace and when I got the email, there was no possible way I could turn it down, so here I am.” She gestured to herself, praying that this conversation wasn’t as awkward for him as it was for her.

 

Bellamy glanced down at Clarke’s hand, where her engagement ring sat and then shifted his gaze to look at the table as he spoke, “Is it even appropriate to call you Griffin anymore? Or has this Finn sealed the deal?”

 

“I’m still a Griffin, Finn is my fiancé.” She wasn’t sure why, but talking about her relationship with Finn to him just felt… wrong. 

 

Bellamy gave her a small smile and a nod, letting a small silence take up the space between them.

 

The silence was deafening for Clarke, and she knew it needed to be broken before her mind had the chance to wonder back to what she had left behind back in TonDC. “So how did you wind up in Arkadia? And as a model, at that.”

 

“After I dropped out of university I stuck around TonDC for a little while, but then Octavia left to move closer to her new job, and there was nothing really left for me there. At first I wasn’t sure where to go, but I eventually ended up in Arkadia because it was the only place I could think of where there was a hundred percent chance that someone I cared about would be.”

 

Clarke knew she looked surprised at that statement. Not only did he just subtly point out that he didn’t have any idea where she was, but he also revealed that Octavia lives here as well, and Clarke had yet to bump in to her. “Octavia’s here?”

 

“Yeah, I’m sure she would love to catch up with you too.” He answers, a small smile still occupying his lips. “Modelling wasn’t my plan. I actually didn’t even have a plan, but I randomly bumped into this guy one day, Marcus Kane, who is now my manager. He got me my first gig and I just stuck with it because it pays the bills, and it’s actually more enjoyable than I thought it would’ve been.” 

 

Clarke gave Bellamy one of the most genuine smiles that she had all day, he sounded happy, and that is all she ever wanted for him.

 

After another hour or so of making small talk, Bellamy received a text, which prompted him to tell Clarke he had to head home. They said their goodbyes and Clarke made her way home through the traffic of Arkadia - which was much lighter than it had been that morning. 

 

When Clarke got home, she was met with an empty apartment, which wasn’t unusual - Finn didn’t usually get home from work until late at night. So Clarke made herself comfortable on the couch, turning on some random show on Netflix to pass the time until she decided that she no longer had the energy to wait up for him, and she crawled to bed for the night. 

As she lay in bed, Clarke had to push away more memories of her time back in TonDC. For years now, she had been able to successfully push away any thoughts of Bellamy, of Octavia and of her mother, but bumping into Bellamy today was beginning to test just how much - or how little - she has gotten over her past. 

 

And that scared the hell out of her. 

  
  



End file.
